book and convinces everyone else that his/her choice is most worthy. Sometimes, two Green Applers are over the moon about the same book. This May, three Green Applers (including two of the three co-owners) are in love with The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt.Kevin H and Ashely are responsible for our official "shelf-talker" below, but allow me to add that I, too, found this book thoroughly enjoyable, devouring it in one (albeit kid-free and slightly hungover) afternoon.
Reviewers speak of the humor contained in this western. Allow us to elaborate.
Two brothers with the last name of Sisters are assassins and rogues -- the mere mention of their names strikes fear in those lucky enough not to have crossed them, but for those that have, it's curtains. The older brother is a trigger-happy lead man with bad manners and a weakness for brandy who is also superstitious to a fault (he won't cross a hexed threshold to protect his own blood.) The younger brother prefers mint tooth powder to fennel, goes on a diet to (hopefully) win the affections of a lady, and is willing to risk a curse on his soul to protect a horse that he isn't really fond of. They bicker, argue, steal, fight, and kill their way to San Francisco (a chapter with the best description of the City we've ever read: both historical and ironically contemporary).
This western will leave you busting a gut, and trust us when we tell you that the spoon...well, it's not just for breakfast anymore.
Don't believe us? Read the heaps of praise here (e.g. “DeWitt has produced a genre-bending frontier saga that is exciting, funny, and, perhaps unexpectedly, moving.” -Publishers Weekly (starred review)).
You can buy it in the store, of course, or online here. Or read the Google eBook here ($11.99--the same price as Amazon). However you want to read it, stop depriving yourself of a good time (as the end is near?) and launch right into The Sisters Brothers.
PS Book cover of the year?